Setting America free

Divergent political camps in the United States have found common ground in support of “energy security” and “energy independence”. As high gasoline prices and intensifying conflicts in the Middle East focus attention on US dependence on petroleum imports, progressives and conservatives are organizing to reshape US policy based on their own views about what the […]

Changed climate will cook elderly people

When the great heatwave of 2003 struck Paris, it left 14,802 people dead; 30,000 people died throughout the rest of Europe. It was, according to Britain’s chief scientific adviser, Sir David King, the worst natural disaster on record. Sixty per cent of those deaths occurred in nursing homes, retirement homes and hospitals. In 2003, the […]

America

As I was flying into JFK on my way back from a uranium mine in Labrador recently, I peered down at the cityscape and was struck by just how brightly this country lights up the night sky. I I

Fighting the wrong war

George Bush’s battle to control the world’s oil supply has cost billions of dollars, much more than it would have cost to discover new sources of energy. It always comes back to oil. The continuing misguided interventions in the Middle East by the United States and the United Kingdom have their roots deep in the […]

Big Oil moves ahead on human rights, slowly

NEW YORK (Reuters) – From excessive force by their security guards to helping support corrupt regimes, oil companies have long faced accusations of helping trigger human rights abuses in the far-flung countries where they operate. Unocal Corp., later acquired by Chevron Corp., was buffeted by protests for refusing to leave Myanmar, while Exxon Mobil Corp. […]

Interior Dept. criticized over unpaid royalties

Lawmakers say agency should collect as much as $2 billion from companies WASHINGTON – Two congressmen said Tuesday it is absurd for the Interior Department not to demand royalties for oil that was pumped under flawed drilling leases. Davis, chairman of the House Government Reform Committee, and Issa, who heads the panel

Oil Disputes Raise Tension Among Southern Sudan Factions

A simmering conflict is threatening to start another war in Sudan. This time, it is as much about oil as it is ethnicity. Unequal distribution of oil revenues, bungled oil contracts, and differences in ethnic power sharing are creating new fault lines in an already divided country. The South Sudan Defense Front (SSDF), a former […]

Russia’s mixed messages threaten oil investment

The mixed messages Russia is sending about the future of some of its biggest foreign-led oil and natural gas projects threaten to undermine international investment even if Moscow fails to act on many of its threats, oil executives and analysts say. Joseph Stanislaw, independent adviser to Deloitte and Touche, the accounting and consulting firm, said […]

Uganda: Country to Blend Fuel With Ethanol

Uganda will soon make it compulsory for oil companies to blend petroleum with a variety of bio-fuels as the country tries to beat rising oil prices by reducing dependence on petroleum, a senior government official said last week. Energy Minister Daudi Migereko says the policy, which covers ethanol, bio-fuel, wind and solar, is essentially ready […]

France Pushes Wider Use of Flex-Fuel Cars by 2007

Cars that can run on ethanol or conventional fuel will be widely available from September 2007 to ease France’s dependency on fossil fuels, French Finance Minister Thierry Breton said on Tuesday. He also said that at least 500 pumps of ethanol-based E85 fuel would be installed in main French cities and in motorway service stations […]

Neste Oil unveils plans to become world’s leading biofuel producer

Neste Oil said its board of directors has approved a strategy aiming at making the company the world’s leading biodiesel producer with millions of tons of biofuel produced annually using a variety of vegetable oils and animal fats. The refiner also revealed a plan to invest ’several billion’ euros in growth projects over the next […]

Reading the Gas Pump Numbers – by Michael T. Klare

What the hell is going on here? Just six weeks ago, gasoline prices at the pump were hovering at the $3 per gallon mark; today, they’re inching down toward $2 — and some analysts predict even lower numbers before the November elections. The sharp drop in gas prices has been good news for consumers, who […]

Economists on climate change: do we care?

Will the spending needed to prevent global warming cost the world more than just sitting back, or even enjoying the possible financial benefits of a hotter planet? Economists are divided over that cold financial calculation in the week ahead of a major report on the issue to be presented to ministers of the world’s leading […]

To Peak Oil, Or Not To Peak Oil

There are three arguments going around. One is that the world is running out of conventional oil sources and we are entering the era of falling production. The Mid-East today satisfies roughly 30 percent of global supply. Of more importance, however, the Mid-East has roughly 65 percent of global reserves and some have projected that […]

Report: Russian Fuel Going to Iran Plant

Russia will ship fuel to a controversial atomic power plant it is building in Iran by March under a deal signed Tuesday, news agencies reported, as Tehran’s nuclear chief met with a Russian security officer at the Kremlin. The agreement signed by Sergei Shmatko, head of the state-run company Atomstroiexport, and Mahmoud Hanatian, vice president […]

Greenspan: Junk Sarbanes-Oxley, Raise Gas Taxes

Greenspan also said there is little doubt that profit margins for U.S. companies were “flattening out” and that the economy is slowing, the newspaper reported. Greenspan made the comments Monday evening before some 800 members of the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council. Greenspan, in response to a question, also called for an increase in gasoline taxes. […]

Rising Risks for Europe’s Power Utilities

From Standard & Poor’s RatingsDirect Generators and vertically integrated utilities in Europe’s liberalized markets are enjoying high profits resulting from continuing strong power prices, which reflect high oil and gas prices and the introduction of the carbon-dioxide (CO2) emissions trading scheme (EU ETS). In fully liberalized European power markets, where electricity pricing is based on […]

US oil reserves up for 1st time in 3 yrs

US proved crude oil reserves last year rose for the first time in three years and natural gas reserves had their biggest annual increase since 1970, the government’s top energy forecasting agency has said. Crude oil reserves jumped 1.8 per cent in 2005 from the year before to 21.757 billion barrels and natural gas reserves […]

Oil price very low, action needed: OPEC chief

Oil prices are very low, harming investment in the industry and something must be done to steady the market, OPEC President Edmund Daukoru said on Tuesday. Many in the oil market expect the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which pumps a third of the world’s oil, to cut supplies if U.S. crude falls convincingly […]

China’s Oil Deals With Iran, Myanmar Put It at Odds With U.S.

In a steamy jungle clearing in Myanmar, a lone drilling rig topped by limp red flags bears testimony to China’s insatiable thirst for oil. A century ago, British-owned Burmah Oil Co. made a fortune for its shareholders from oil fields that lie beneath the teak forests and golden-spired Buddhist pagodas of the country formerly known […]

White House said to bar hurricane report

The Bush administration has blocked release of a report that suggests global warming is contributing to the frequency and strength of hurricanes, the journal Nature reported Tuesday. The possibility that warming conditions may cause storms to become stronger has generated debate among climate and weather experts, particularly in the wake of the Hurricane Katrina disaster. […]

An Investment Bubble May be Emerging in Solar Energy

With gas prices at record highs this past summer, and growing concerns about global warming, it yahoo

The Oil Drum: Natural Gas – A Tale of Two Markets

This post will provide a graphical update on what has been a roller coaster ride in the natural gas market over the past 12 months, and a steep plummet of late. Natural gas prices have dropped by 50% in the last month, and over 70% from their highs earlier in the year. The warmest winter […]

Residents of Medan protest blackouts during Ramadhan

Muslims in Medan are blaming state power company PLN for recurring power cuts, which they say are disrupting special activities during the fasting month of Ramadhan. The caretaker of Medan’s main Al Ikwhan mosque, Asno Susanto, said the North Sumatra branch of PLN had broken its promise not to cut power during the month. “Frankly […]

Saudi Aramco to Open a 1.2m bpd Oil Field

Saudi-based international petroleum company, Aramco, signed two contracts for the development of the 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) Khureis Increment Program (KIP). The Khureis crude contract went to Snamprogetti from Italy, and the Khureis gas contract was signed with a consortium consisting of Hyundai Engineering & Construction and Foster-Wheeler Energy, Ltd. According to Aramco’s […]

Coal-rich Zimbabwe faces acute shortages

HARARE – Drastic coal shortages despite massive natural deposits have had a ripple effect throughout Zimbabwe’s economy and ruined a deal to renovate the country’s biggest steelworks, the government has acknowledged. The energy crisis adds to the economic woes of Zimbabwe, which is already suffering from acute shortages of fuel and many basic commodities. Industry […]

B.C. boosting natural gas production

CUTBANK RIDGE — The newest, most modern natural gas drilling rig on the planet is guided by a simple joystick being manipulated with surprising delicacy in the meaty paw of a guy whose hardhat bears the name Big Don. Donny Carey is a linebacker-sized Newfoundlander who moved to Western Canada a decade ago to work […]

Cheap gas until the election?

Recent hype can’t disprove peak oil I filled my tank with gas for $1.89 a gallon last week. Some station in your area might be even cheaper. But there’s no question that the cost of gas is down across the country these days. Then there’s more good news for drivers: Earlier this month, Chevron and […]

Raymond J. Learsy

The Potential Collapse of Oil Prices Makes Restraint of Gasoline Consumption Key to Controlling CO2 Emissions We are all becoming well aware of the dangers of an impending and catastrophic climate crisis. The State of California, only recently with bipartisan cooperation, passed laws committing to sharp reductions CO2 emissions. So too have some 295 American […]

Plunging oil prices put paid to 100-dollar forecast

LONDON (AFP) – Oil prices have tumbled about 25 percent in six weeks to under 60 dollars per barrel, confounding expert forecasts of a spike to 100 dollars before the end of 2006. Since August 7, when Brent North Sea crude struck a historic high 78.64 dollars per barrel, the price has plummeted almost 20 […]

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